Posts By: K.C. Hopson

kchopson

How to Promote your Meeting with LinkedIn

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Social Media, What's New.

LinkedIn is now the premier social media web site for business. If your conference is targeting professionals in business, education and government, LinkedIn is not to be ignored, although they have discontinued the app for creating events. There are still many great ways for your meeting to be promoted on LinkedIn. Post updates on your personal and organization page that link to your online registration form. Use headline terminology, such as registration for your conference “is now open!” Post status updates about meeting news such as speaker updates, the venue, and so forth. Have a LinkedIn icon on your online... Read more »

kchopson

Don’t Be Duped into Compromising Your Organization’s Computer Security

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

Internet Security

Most people think securing your computer systems is the job of your IT department and software you install. Furthermore it is commonly believed that most security breaches are because of “hackers” compromising an organization’s web site. Consequently an organization’s security is not really your problem, but that of your “network gurus” protecting the web site. In fact this perception is quite wrong. One report showed that a staggering 70% (!!) of security breaches were not caused by hackers, but by “internal vulnerabilities.” These include lost or stolen equipment, and accidental or malicious employee attacks. The recent theft of Target store’s... Read more »

kchopson

How Geofencing Can Enrich Your Meeting

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Mobile Event Apps, What's New.

Geofencing

2013 is the year smartphones significantly changed how events function. From social networking apps to innovative ways badges and smart phones can change session tracking, check-ins and lead retrieval, the mobile platform offers exciting possibilities that weren’t even considered a few years ago. One new such technology is called “geofencing.” As you probably already know, the GPS (“Global Positioning System”) in your smartphone interacts with location-based apps – like Google Maps and Foursquare – to use your location for your benefit. A geo-fence takes this a step further. An establishment – like a store or a booth at a trade... Read more »

kchopson

Keep Yourself Safe with Good Password Management

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

Internet Security

One of the most frustrating aspects of being on the Internet is managing your passwords. Just when you think you have a great password, one of your sites asks you to change it. Even worse, web sites differ greatly in their standards for how “strong” your password should be. The strength of the password defines how hard it would be for an outsider to guess it. In general, the longer the password the stronger it is. However, there are other factors like mixing lower and upper case letters and including numbers. Some sites even require non alpha-numerics like punctuation. The... Read more »

kchopson

Product Review: Zoomph, Social Media Hub for Events

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Social Media, What's New.

Zoomph

EventRebels had the pleasure recently of spending some time with the people at Zoomph and viewing their cutting-edge Influencer Engagement Platform. In many ways we found Zoomph’s product like our software – an attractive, flexible and powerful interface for the attendees, but also a very strong back-end management side for the event planners. Zoomph is most well-known as a platform that ties together all social media content from today’s most popular social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), collects and ranks social media content and then streams it to an integrated interface where event attendees can absorb topics, trends, and real-time conversations.... Read more »

kchopson

Why Your Online Registration Form Should Look Like Your Web Site

Posted by & filed under Branding, Event Rebels Blog, Online Registration - Keys to Success, What's New.

Dollar Sign Skeleton Key

It happens all too often. An organization creates a beautiful web site for their conference or special event, only to have their brand obscured by an online registration form that looks like a cheap invitation. Apparently someone thought that the idea of a consistent marketing message ends at the time of registration. This, of course, is a big mistake. Here is why: It breaks the fundamental rule of a consistent marketing message. The site builds up the notion that you are going to have a great conference, but the registration form has the appearance of a second-rate operation. Your brand... Read more »

kchopson

Why Email Open Rates are Unreliable

Posted by & filed under Email - How to Use Effectively, Event Rebels Blog, What's New.

Email marketers love to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. From unique Emails sent to bounce-backs to click-thrus, metrics form the backbone of evaluating the success of your marketing campaign. One metric, generally considered to be very important, but actually is extremely suspect, is the metric called “Open Rate.” The rate’s goal is to track how many people opened your Email. Why it is important is obvious. Opening your Email is like opening a letter. It indicates that some or part of the message will be read and points that the reader is at least somewhat interested in what you... Read more »

kchopson

How to make your Reverse Trade Show more successful

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Resources Reverse Trade Show, Trade Show, What's New.

Handshake Reverse Trade Show

Reverse trade shows are one of the hottest items in the meetings industry. They promise to bring more value to exhibitors by delivering high quality appointments with high closing rates. To work effectively, these shows use Appointment Scheduling software to setup meetings prior to the show. The strange thing about reverse trade shows is that while having good appointment scheduling software is important, it is even more critical that this software is setup properly in the bigger picture of the attendees’ participation in the meeting. If the attendees do not make or show up to the appointments, than the quality... Read more »

kchopson

How to Safely Surf the Internet

Posted by & filed under Email - How to Use Effectively, Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

Internet

Have you ever typed in an Internet link (called “URL”) you read in a magazine, ad or Email and then suddenly end up at a totally inappropriate web site? Even worse, did that site give your computer a virus which you spent an entire day fixing? I personally mistyped the URL of a web company I know very well and ended up at a site that attacked my computer. Love it or not, but surfing the web can be dangerous not only to your computer, but even to your pocketbook. Here are some basic steps you can take to make... Read more »

kchopson

Ways to Keep Presentations Alive After the Conference

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Speakers, What's New.

Speakers

So you had a great conference. The attendees were rewarded with great presentations and interesting speakers. So that attendees can refer to the talks after the show, you might provide a bunch of paper handouts. However, this approach produces a tremendous waste of paper, most of which is lost or even tossed before the plane trip home. So how can you use the Internet to keep your presentations alive after the conference? Here are a couple of ideas. You should have a series of web pages that show information about the program schedule, presentations, and speakers. Users should be able... Read more »

kchopson

Ways to Make Sure People Pay Their Registration Fees

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Online Registration - Keys to Success, Onsite, What's New.

In a perfect world everybody would pay their registration online with the amount due in full and with a credit card. Unfortunately, in many cases that may not be the only way to register that you’ll be able to offer. Especially with meetings with high fees or a large number of government or international attendees, you may have to offer the choice of registering with a Purchase Order or a promise that a check or wire transfer will be issued. If your meeting is in this category, you know that this creates a ton of extra work and can hurt... Read more »

kchopson

Use Images In Email to Increase Online Registration!

Posted by & filed under Email - How to Use Effectively, Event Rebels Blog, What's New.

Email marketing is still one of the best ways to encourage people to register online for your conference or event. When used properly images can greatly complement your message and improve the success of your effort. However, when used incorrectly an image can actually destroy your hard work! Still, images sell and they can improve your registration conversion rates. It’s important to remember that today’s Internet readers scan and are very visual. A good image can be the difference between someone reading your Email or throwing it in the trash. If you follow some good practices, you are more likely... Read more »

kchopson

What is the Deal with All These Codes on My Badge?

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Onsite, QR Codes, What's New.

There has been a lot of talk in the last few years about using various codes on attendee badges to expedite the exchange of information between attendees, exhibitors, or both. These “codes” take the form of some image that has no meaning to a person but are meant to be read by a device (“machine readable.”) These codes not only differ visually, but they also function in quite different ways. Here is a break-down of the most popular codes used on badges at meetings and events. A 1D Bar Code (i.e. One Dimensional) is a simple code typically representing a... Read more »

kchopson

Five Reporting Features Your Online Registration System Should Have

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Online Registration - Keys to Success, What's New.

Online registration systems can be very good at collecting data. This is a great asset to your organization. However, if you cannot manipulate the information in the manner you need, your online registration system may be creating a bunch of hidden costs by not giving you functionality that high end platforms provide. Here are some reporting features your online registration software should have. Most importantly, you need to be able to export all data to Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or CSV files. Some software platforms keep all their report data in proprietary formats in order to keep you locked into their... Read more »

kchopson

What is Hosted Buyer and Reverse Trade Show?

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Resources Reverse Trade Show, Trade Show, What's New.

Reverse Trade Show Discussion

They are some of the hottest phrases in the trade show world – “Hosted Buyer” and “Reverse Trade Show.” These new ways of engaging buyers and suppliers promise to give new vigor to the world of trade shows. These types of events are relatively new in North America, but have been around for years in Europe. So, what are these events and what is the difference between the two? Here are some basic working definitions. The main difference between these and the traditional trade show is how the attendee (the “buyer”) engages with the exhibitor (the “supplier”). Rather than the... Read more »

kchopson

Three Ways Technology Can Bring Attendees Together

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Onsite, QR Codes, Resources Trade Show, Social Media, What's New.

Internet

So you used all the technology tools in your arsenal to bring attendees to your meeting or event. You used email marketing , online registration, Facebook, Twitter and so on. And you did a great job! You have a record number of registrations and your show looks like its going to be a hit. So how can you make your show even better so attendees will be eager to come back next year? A great way to deliver value to your attendees is increasing their engagement with each other. This is where technology can really help you. Here are three... Read more »

kchopson

Use Twitter After Your Conference To Keep It Alive

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Social Media, What's New.

Twitter

In a previous article Use Twitter at Your Conference we discussed how to use Twitter to increase attendee engagement. Assuming you have created a great hashtag, the general idea is to use this Twitter hashtag to create the “go to” place to get information about the conference. Continuing this idea, the conference does not need to stop being an important resource once the show is over. In fact, you can continue your attendee engagement long after everyone has gone home. Following the principles set forth in our previous articles, here are some simple things you can do with Twitter to... Read more »

kchopson

Write a Great Email Subject Line

Posted by & filed under Email - How to Use Effectively, Event Rebels Blog, What's New.

Looking for help with email? If your planning a trade show or conference don’t miss out on an outstanding email marketing tool that will make your show that much better.  We have spent a lot of time doing and helping with email marketing. Don’t overlook these simple things that will help your open rates significantly. Most composers of Email focus all their energy on writing an exciting message that will grab the attention of the reader.After the text is written, the writer develops the subject line in a matter of seconds and then sends the Email off to the awaiting... Read more »

kchopson

Making Sense of PayPal’s ECommerce Products

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

PayPal

Are you thinking about how to handle payments online for things like donations and online registration? If you are new to online credit card processing, you will probably need a primer on how online credit card processing works. However, if you’ve done any amount of shopping on the Internet, the service PayPal may be the first thing you think of in terms of online credit card processing. PayPal is the leader in Internet credit card processing. However, they do offer a bewildering set of eCommerce products. One of the most common activities EventRebels staff performs is guiding customers through the... Read more »

kchopson

Simplify the Assembly of Your Conference Schedule

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Speakers, What's New.

Speakers

One of the most arduous and time-consuming tasks a planner faces is putting together the conference schedule. Vast amounts of data have to be collected and processed. The data ranges from session information, speaker information and bios, travel needs, A/V needs and so forth. Ultimately, all this information needs to be organized into the conference schedule and then made available to the attendee. Traditional methods of managing speakers and the schedule have focused on dozens of huge spreadsheets and uncountable amounts of data copying. Call for Papers and Speaker Management software slashes the amount of time spent in this process... Read more »

kchopson

Afraid to use Internet Technology for Your Meeting?

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

Internet

Do you want to use the Internet to improve and simplify your meeting planning but someone in your office (maybe your boss) thinks the Internet is too dangerous? Perhaps you live in the world of spreadsheets and that has always worked.  Maybe attendance is down and your budget is getting tighter every year, but any change seems overwhelming. If you fit any of the previous profiles, then you should know that the Internet is not dangerous! Furthermore, if used properly, Internet software will save you time, money and increase revenue and attendance.  Here are some misconceptions that cause meeting planners... Read more »

kchopson

Using Twitter at Your Conference

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Social Media, What's New.

In a previous article Use Twitter to Promote Your Conference we discussed how to use Twitter for generating buzz about your conference. Because Twitter posts (called a “Tweet”) are restricted to text messages of 140 characters or less, the tool is perfect for generating headlines and small news stories. While this is tremendous to promote your conference, Tweets can be used with great effectiveness to increase attendee engagement and enthusiasm at the conference itself. This, in turn, will make the meeting more memorable and help build your brand. Before reviewing techniques you can use, a couple of general issues should... Read more »

kchopson

Create QR Codes That Work

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, QR Codes, What's New.

https://www.eventrebels.com

QR codes have become one of the hottest marketing tools around. Because of the emergence of the smartphone and free, easy to use scanning apps, QR codes can now be found everywhere from online sites to stickers to tattoos(!) to lampposts. Popular smartphone readers such as Red Laser, ScanLife and ShopSavvy make it easy to scan the codes with your phone camera. For the vast majority of cases, scanning a QR code with a smartphone will result in a website appearing in your default mobile browser. However, QR codes can be created to serve other purposes. For example, scanning the... Read more »

kchopson

Event Networking 101: Why Network?

Posted by & filed under Event Networking, Event Rebels Blog, What's New.

Perhaps you are out of town at a conference and are attending a related evening event. You have a couple of friends present, so you decide to spend all your time at a table chatting with them. When you get back to your hotel room, you’ve met no new people, but, at least, you’re not stressed out. If this is how you behaved at your last conference or recent event, this article is here to say that you are doing yourself a great disfavor! It is understood that event networking is as about as popular as public speaking. For most... Read more »

kchopson

Four Huge Email Marketing Mistakes

Posted by & filed under Email - How to Use Effectively, Event Rebels Blog, What's New.

In you are reading this article, your organization probably communicates with its members, followers and interested parties via Email. (We will call them subscribers for the purposes of this article.) If not find out what you need to do to plan an effective email marketing campaign.  While social media is starting to overtake Email as the most effective way to communicate, Email has the advantage of being around for a long time. Consequently, many organizations (hopefully yours) have built up large and relatively accurate Email lists.  Email is still the best method for high access communication with your subscribers. Regardless... Read more »